本文是一篇区域经济论文,该研究主要分析了加纳可可业在西非的出口竞争力。该研究对西非八个可可生产国在生产和出口方面的表现进行了比较分析。此外,该研究还计算了加纳、科特迪瓦、喀麦隆、尼日利亚、塞拉利昂、利比里亚、几内亚和多哥的显示比较优势(RCA)和显示对称比较优势(RSCA),以确定它们在可可出口方面的比较优势。
CHAPTER ONE (1) INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
Globally, agriculture remains the backbone of countries‟ economy which determines the sustenance of man on earth. More than 33.33% of the world‟s populations are employed in agriculture, and almost 38% of the world‟s land surface is used for agriculture (1).
In Africa, agriculture is the main driver of the socio-economic development of most countries since the industrial subsector is not well developed. Agricultural growth in Africa has been above 3.5% and employs approximately 60% of the labor force (2). This implies that about two-thirds of the population in Africa earns a living through agriculture. No wonder the World Development Report 2008, calls for „the Agriculture for Development Agenda”, with emphasis on the significance of farming in the progression of societies, particularly those of the developing world (3). It is estimated that by the year 2030, agriculture and its related activities will record approximately a trillion US dollars. Agricultural activities remain the sector with the largest share of African countries Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contributing almost 45% of GDP (4). However, despite the strong role of agriculture in the growth and advancement of Africa, the African agriculture portion is low yield, with a resultant effect of food insecurity. Most African countries‟ food imports thus exceed their food exports if any at all(5).
Ghana since 2005, succeeded as the first African country to realize the Millennium Development Goal one (1) of exterminating life-threatening poverty and starvation largely through agriculture(6) “Agriculture has driven Ghana‟s economic growth in recent years and remains the primary way Ghanaians earn their living, especially the poorest”(6) Agricultural productions in the 1990s witnessed an insignificant 1.9% growth. The early 2000s, however, saw a rise in growth of almost 6%(7) . This growth, however, could not be sustained; the 2007 year witnessed nearly -2% growths. 2008, and 2009 years saw a rise in growth to about 7.4%, 7.2%, respectively. The growth of the sector since 2010, has taken a downward fluctuating trend. From 5.3% in 2011, to as low as 0.8% in 2012, and a 2.6% growth in 2013. This is exceedingly intermittent (7) Ghana‟s agricultural sector although erratic currently contributes about 35% of GDP, largely driven by the cocoa sub-sector. Nearly 69.9% of the world production of cocoa comes from West Africa (1) West Africa alone in the year 2017, contributed about 4,099,568 tons of cocoa out of total world production of 5,201,108 tons led by Cote d‟Ivoire with 38% and Ghana with 17%(1) Cocoa is a strong driver of the economies of the leading producers of the product in the world, particularly those countries in West African. The cultivation of the crop does not only provide jobs for smallholder farmers, processors, traders, and transporters, it is also the primary way through which about 11 million farmers and workers operating in the industry in Africa earn revenue. T